The present invention relates to a glove used for removing fluid material from surfaces, and in one particular aspect, to a glove used for cleaning blood or other bio-hazardous material from surfaces.
In recent years, there has been growing concern regarding the spread of communicable illnesses through casual contact with bio-hazardous materials including blood and other biological fluids. For that reason, any surface upon which exposed blood or other biological fluid is spilled should be promptly cleaned and disinfected to minimize the potential for inadvertent communication of illnesses. Such spills may occur anywhere, but are particularly recurrent in areas such as hospitals, athletic arenas such as gymnasiums, boxing rings, and basketball courts as well as workplace areas such as construction sites and manufacturing plants.
Unfortunately, the communication of illnesses may potentially occur during even the brief contact with blood or other biological fluids during the time a person is cleaning them from surfaces. For that reason, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has promulgated detailed regulations pertaining to the manner in which blood or other bio-hazardous materials are to be safely removed from surfaces. These procedures include the requirements that persons cleaning such surfaces wear fluid-impermeable gloves and that any cleaning materials such as sponges or other absorbent material be disposed of in containers clearly marked as containing bio-hazardous material. In addition, many institutions not bound by these OSHA regulations either voluntarily comply with them, or adopt similar procedures.
To facilitate the procedure of cleaning blood or other bio-hazardous material from a surface, pre-packaged “kits” are available that contain a number of items necessary to safely clean and disinfect a surface from such material. One such kit, for example, includes one or more latex gloves, a packaged congealing agent, a plastic scoop, packaged disinfectant wipes, one or more paper towels, and a plastic bio-hazard bag labeled with the international symbol for bio-hazardous waste. When using such a kit on a blood spill on a basketball court, for example, a person may first sprinkle the congealing agent over the spill which causes the blood to coagulate into a more solid form. Then, wearing gloves, the person may scoop the coagulated blood into the plastic bio-hazard bag. Because the surface will still likely contain blood or blood-borne bacteria, the person may then scrub the spill area with the disinfectant wipes and then dry the area with the paper towels, being sure to place the plastic scoop, the wipes, and the paper towels inside the bio-hazard bag for safe disposal.
One drawback of such kits are that they are bulky and do not facilitate the quick removal of fluids from a surface due to the multiple steps involved in coagulating the blood or other biological fluid, disinfecting and drying the contaminated surface, and then disposing of all the materials in a biohazard bag. Further, the risk of accidental contact with the hazardous material increases proportionally with each additional step in the disposal process, as the latex glove may be punctured, the fluid may splatter beyond the boundaries of the latex glove, etc.
Another type of existing product that facilitates the removal of bio-hazardous material from a surface is an absorbent bag or glove as exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 6,481,766 B1 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,668. Each of these products is designed to enclose a person's hand and often shaped like a glove or a mitten. Absorbent material is affixed to the palm-side surface of these products so that a person may clean fluid material from a contaminated surface. The absorbent material is typically impregnated with an antiseptic to both neutralize any bacteria or virus present in the fluid and disinfect the surface. Impregnating the absorbent material with an antiseptic, however, is problematical. Absorbent material impregnated with a dry or powdered antiseptic is relatively ineffective, particularly with respect to the absorption and disposal of viscous fluids because while the powdered antiseptic may neutralize most of the fluid absorbed, the surface is inadequately disinfected because the absorbent material is not sufficiently wetted. Conversely, if the absorbent material is impregnated with fluid antiseptic, the absorbent material must be vacuum sealed during storage to prevent the antiseptic from evaporating.
What is desired, then, is an improved system for the safe removal of bio-hazardous material from surfaces.